


A World Without Love Does Not Exist

by BadlyWrittenFluff



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels, Angel Healing, Basically Ako gets wings!!, F/F, Hopeful Ending, Magic Revealed, Roselia, Supernatural Elements, That word count though, This isn't religious lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-19 11:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29998749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadlyWrittenFluff/pseuds/BadlyWrittenFluff
Summary: Ako could usually keep her role as Roselia's drummer and her duty as an angel seperate but one day she gets 'the call' from the very room Roselia practiced in and is forced to reveal herself to one of her bandmates unless she wants to face drastic consequences and allow them to suffer.
Relationships: Hikawa Sayo/Udagawa Ako
Kudos: 2





	A World Without Love Does Not Exist

**Author's Note:**

> TW: A very brief off-hand mention of unnamed individuals going through self harm or physical abuse.

Ako's Perspective

___________ 

Ako wasn't expecting to get a calling during her everyday life. Rather, in the areas she dwelled in during them. It was true that adolescence was filled with inner and sometimes outer turmoil; and it didn't take much to find one or the other when walking among that society. 

High-schoolers were especially the kind always screaming out into the void, or at each other, teachers, parents, whatever worked to get the angst out. 

Their idea of suffering wasn't what Ako was ascended to rectify. 

She didn't feel her wings tingle with impatience, ready to unfurl around her classmates. 

But there was deep pain surrounding her, now. 

Ako sometimes wished she could have been used as a guardian angel, protecting the oblivious, or a normal light angel providing miracle. Yet, she always spoke of dark lore, blood and power, struggle and victor. 

When she was chosen, they assigned her with what she had picked as a persona for herself her entire lifetime; it seemed.

They... he... Ako didn't know. The spiritual side of it all, funnily enough, was above her. 

She was an angel, but she was a kid too. That was all too big to think about but Ako wondered why they'd... he'd... someone would use an unfaithful to serve their purposes. 

If Ako knew where this all came from, she'd bend her knee to it. But her only contact came in dreams, an indistinctable hum telling her that she did good or bad. 

Ako still remembered the first time she heard the hum, she understood it like it were words being spoken, even when she knew it weren't. 

She remembered being so excited... accepting the position and in turn walking into things she could have never imagined. 

Ako... thinks some of it has left her scarred. 

But she took other people's scars away too, she did. 

Maybe not the physical ones, when she's guided to a girl who self-harms or is abused... but she was an antiseptic, a wash rag, a comforting hand - with the things that came to her, the things she gave to them. 

There was always something good to say, but Ako would have found what comes from herself foolish if she had any control over them, especially given the horrid situations. 

They, knew what to put in her mouth. She spoke them.   
It wasn't her doing. But... Ako still took pride in it. 

Learned from it, even if 'it' wasn't even the part that truly healed them. 

Ako scans her bandmates, trying to distinguish which one of them could be quietly suffering. 

None of them really seemed to be in a bad way but neither did she really. She went on pretending she was only that happy go lucky kid they knew. She hadn't lost all of her joy or maybe any...maybe it was just that she was a little more subdued now.

Maybe it was that alongside her joy there was a dark side always reminding her there were just as many reasons to cry as there was to smile. 

Ako stops drumming, putting the whole band at a stop. 

Yukina reprimands this but Ako closes her eyes and stands up. 

She empties her mind, makes it go fully _dark_. 

**There**. 

"Sayo, we need to talk." Ako opens her eyes knowing she'd be in front of the mint haired girl's crossed arms. 

"We're in the middle of practice Udagawa-san. If this isn't important-"

"Sayo. Please follow me. No one else, please." Ako states, walking towards the door. 

Footsteps trail after her and Ako guides them both to the back of the building. Another girl band was loitering there but upon seeing other humans they stalked away. 

Ako stares at Sayo ignoring the 'what is it?' That is fired off immediately. 

She stares. And stares. 

No. 

Nothing. 

"Take me to the source of your pain, Sayo-san." Ako asks, her plan B having to do. 

With Sayo as the only focus, no others to drown out - Ako knew now however, the cause of tribulation was not at the very core - Sayo herself. 

With Ako's knowledge of how it went in these cases...It was definitely someone Sayo cared about. 

It felt just like when Ako was drawn to mothers or fathers in hospitals, grieving their child's pain. 

"What? I have no time for this sort of thing and it's very unprofessional - "

"I can help, I promise. I can help."

"You are behaving very strangely..." Sayo responds suspiciously. "I don't need help with anything. Can we get back to-"

"If that were true, I wouldn't have the urges to do this... " Ako begins to strip off her sweater and Sayo interrupts her with an insistent and panicked 'what are you doing?!'

She's relieved to find Ako has a thin cami on underneath, but shocked to see wings sprout from Ako's back and lift her the moment they come out fluid and effortless for the large size of them. 

Ako only lets them out for a moment, being able to stretch them nice but quickly they retreat inside of her as Sayo fumbles away from her in shock, tripping one - two times over herself before stopping in her tracks and regaining composure. 

"It's okay Sayo-san, I would never hurt you! But if you don't let me help... I'll be punished. Badly."

"…. Punished? What ARE you Ako??" Sayo seems to get her words back at a miraculous speed, but she'd gone paler than usual. 

"I am... a dark angel?? Or something cool like that! I still am Ako…but something happened last year. I will explain later but... I am not evil, I promise! I just want to help you feel better. I am capable of that. It's my job and if I don't... "

"If you don't?" 

Ako didn't want to go into detail and that was clear but Sayo clearly did. 

"When I lay down to sleep, my body with writhe in pain for an hour. I will scream... My sister will hold me, but if she tries to move me from the bed more pain will come. I will know when it ends.…the angry hum will start to fade as my pain goes. But it... hurts. Badly. I can't fail."

"Ako.……how did you come to this?"

"I didn't. It came to me. But please.. Sayo-san."

"Okay.…" Sayo accepts. "If it prevents that and you claim you can help then I have to take this chance. It's my sister... I will explain to everyone that this is urgent and take you to my home. She'll be there. She skipped school all week and hardly leaves her room."

"Hina-san? Really? Well okay! I will do all I can!"

Sayo nods, taking small glances at her as she walks away. 

She still seemed scared... 

Ako's head droops to the floor. 

Of course she was.... 

This well and truly sucked... 

But... Sayo's pain was strong enough to call out to Ako! So she had to go on! This was her duty. It's what she agreed to! 

* * *

Sayo was just staring at Ako as they walked and it was starting to become very uncomfortable. 

"I... " Ako begins trying to fill the silence. "Need to know what's wrong before I get there."

"That makes sense. It is good to be prepared but I don't know how much I'll be able to inform you.. " Sayo replies.. "Hina... Is heartbroken. I tried to speak to her but all she has said to me was that she was 'too late' and 'she wished she had more time'

"Hmmm... " Ako replies. "That's not a lot to go on. So you think it's about a relationship??"

"That much is obvious. The thing is, Hina is great at everything except...identifying other people's emotions or her emotions towards others. She just acts on her feelings without considering them too deeply. I thought about it, and I think she was, is; in love with someone and didn't get that love was what she felt for them until it was too late and something prevented the relationship from happening."

"Oh... It must have been love if it's gotten Hina down so badly. She always seems so-"

"Irresponsible? Immature? Nonchalant?" Sayo cuts Ako off. 

"Well…yeah!" Ako agreed hesitantly. "But like, in a good way... "

"I know." Sayo speaks, her voice heavier with strain. "She's not herself anymore.... and it scares me. I've heard her cry, if only for a little at night and I don't know what to do about it."

Ako sees how distressed Sayo was and her instinct is to grab her friend's hand to comfort her. 

Sayo immediately pulls away and Ako _immediately_ takes it to heart.

Maybe they'd never been the closest in Roselia but they were still friends... right? Her being an angel didn't... shouldn't change that? 

"Sorry. That was wrong of me."

"Huh?" Ako asks wondering if she let her dejection show on her face. 

"I did not mean to do that Udagawa-san. But, I struggle to wrap my head around any of this. Still, I don't mean to treat you harshly because of my inability to process the situation.... I apologise." 

"No... It's okay!" Ako states. "I'm meant to be making you feel better, not guilty! And this is a lot to take in, so! Just take me to your sis and I'll work my magic!"

"Is it magic?" Sayo asks curiously. 

"No." Ako shakes her head but finds it hard to say that with full confidence when her _wings_ kept begging to sprout, not satisfied with the five seconds of relief earlier. 

It didn't feel like magic, though. She didn't feel zapping tingles of power flowing through her body that wanted to shoot out from her eyes or hands. 

"But it's not me either." She continued. "I can pick up on things now and I know how to talk to people better but the words I'm going to say to Hina won't be mines." Ako explains. 

"Won't be yours? Whose, then?"

"I don't know.…"

Silence falls over them and Ako rolls her shoulders, sore and in pain as they walk on. There was a lot more she could say but she just didn't know how. 

"What's wrong?" Sayo asks her when minutes later Ako's movements had gotten more and more dramatic. "We're almost there."

"I know. My wings like to be out when people are in need but... I have to stay secret of course."

"I understand... does it hurt?"

"Yes but when I'm inside I can let them out. It will be ok!" Ako keeps a strong hearty smile on her face. 

"That's good. I find it hard to imagine growing another part of my already complete body." 

"To be fair.... " Ako points out. "I didn't really grow em! Just POOF - no water or sun required! It was pretty cool!" Ako cheered. 

"I can imagine how excited you were." Sayo grins. 

Ako rambles on about just how true that was as they walked the empty paths until their conversation naturally simmers down. 

Though the silence was bearable this time around, Ako had something else she needed to say.

She really didn't want Sayo to think Ill of her.

"I wanted to tell the band, you know.... I still do! I just don't know how and I was...kinda scared too."

She felt bad that she kept something so big from Roselia. Usually...in any other situation she'd have been thrilled to tell them she had 'special abilities' but just as she was going to many worries surfaced.

She worried Yukina would wonder about or question her priorities, that her wings might frighten Lisa who didn't seem keen on supernaturals based on the stories about a well that she'd told everyone, that Rinko would worry about the things Ako was exposed to in the helping.

She especially worried what would happen if any of them found out and whatever thing was controlling her decided to extend their 'job invitations' to them. 

If she could have, she would have ignored the urges to help Sayo so she didn't have to tell. But... the pain of not completing a task hurt so bad and Tomoe got really scared when it happened. She didn't want to worry her either. 

"So, no one else is aware of this?" Sayo asks, allowing Ako to bring her sister up. 

"Big sis is... she remembers but no one I help knows me when I see them. I mean I hardly ever do see them again but it's happened once or twice! My parents forget every event they accidentally get involved in too."

"If you tell the others in Roselia, do you think we will remember then?" Sayo drilled.

"Yes... " Ako states. "Unless... one of you threaten to call the government on... for? me probably. My mom and dad wanted to get help. I don't think whoever it is making this happen liked that?"

"So you think some entity is watching and toys with memories.... that's unsettling."

"Yeah.... "

"Well, I for one am not reporting anything. I highly doubt the rest of Roselia will either... we still need you as our drummer." Sayo assured her. 

"Thanks...I think. I don't want to be tested on like in the movies..." 

"Ako, have you tried to figure out how to escape this?" Sayo waits for a moment to pass before inquiring it but to Ako it felt like she'd asked it five times in a row, immediately. 

"….no." She replies after a moment. 

"I figured."

To Ako, the entire situation was pain and commitment she never _really_ asked for. It was trauma over and over again. It was also enlightening and rejuvenating though and it made her feel good, to be a vessel for healing. 

A soul reviver, for the fallen! 

Her video games became a reality! 

How could she ask for less or want for more? 

They get to Sayo's home and when they're in the privacy of it Sayo watches Ako start to fly just slightly above the ground. 

"Better?" She asks, scanning her. 

"Yup! You should probably warn Hina.…I don't wanna scare her... " Ako suggests. 

"Okay." Sayo agrees. "Stay right there then. It may take a moment to convince her."

She was right. Ako waits for a really long time but she hears every word Hina says so she was still apparently the louder twin even when sad. 

'Is that some sort of joke Sayo? It's not very funny.... '

Ako considered coming in and saving Sayo from the drawn out debate so she was jumpscared when Sayo and Hina both come out suddenly, Sayo seemingly having given up on words and forced to use the unseemly option of force. 

"The... the HELL! Ako!!! OH MY GOD. I can't believe it!!"

Hina runs up to Ako while she is still recovering from banging her wing and shoulder against a wall due to jolting in surprise. 

"Hina, don't startle her like that! Calm down. " Sayo chastises. 

"You're.. you're an ANGEL!" Hina screeched with her full chest. What Ako noticed as Sayo cuts Hina off however is that Hina's cheeks look tear streaked and she didn't seem completely like herself even when the supernatural surprise had brought some of her energy back to her. 

"I am!" Ako floats, doing a little twirl in the air. "I am here to fulfill my duty and heal your rotten heart. Will you allow me to continue on this quest dear damsel?" Ako glides closer and touches her palm to Hina's chest. 

Both sisters thought it to be a theatrical move but the moment Ako touches there, Ako felt everything Hina had been feeling. 

Sorrow, Regret, Confusion, Self-consciousness...

Confusion. That was the big one. 

It hurt Ako, to feel any of them. Hina was such a nice person! She always called her drumming 'boppin and said she was adorable! Ako knew she'd make the feelings wish they never came. Yeah! 

"Well... I don't know if you can help but...!" Hina begins to poke at Ako's wings and Ako's altruism takes a momentary break because she finds for once that she actually found someone else just a little annoying instead of others thinking that of her. Did that count as character development? 

Her wings may have been feathered magnificently, coated with the most beautiful jet black and the prettiest sheen you could ever see but they were also very sensitive to touch and Ako couldn't say she loved them being played with.

"This is super cool so I'm willing to try!! I think this is the first time I've smiled in a week! I can't believe angels exist!"

Sayo stares at Hina's evasive fingers with a slight eye twitch and Ako was grateful that she was looking out for her since she reaches out to remove her sister gently from the act. 

"Okay... follow me! We shouldn't do it so close to the outside world and it's best if it's in an enclosed space like a bedroom...I think! Sayo do you want to watch? I always wondered how cool it looks cool to other people!"

"Watch? I am the older sister so I suppose it is only right I ensure Hina's safety in this odd circumstance." Sayo agreed. 

"Okay, come on!" Ako grabbed a sister each with her hands, taking them back to Hina's room. 

* * *

Sayo's Perspective

____________

Ako sits across from Hina in her bed and Hina mimics her without being asked. Well... except for the levitating slightly above the sheets part. 

"Sayo can you turn off the lights." Ako orders. 

Sayo does this before staying quite close to the exit not wishing to be in the way. 

"I can't see y-" Hina starts to complain but both her hands are taken into Ako's and Ako begins to glow. A bright neon purple light formed all around her and she began to hum. A constant line of hums, short ones like she was making a beat, just continuous humming. 

Or at least that is what Sayo heard herself. 

Smoke fills the room entirely but Sayo doesn't feel the need to cough and she can easily see through the gray colorless fog. 

Hina's eyes were fixed and focused on Ako alone. 

When Ako stops humming she starts talking actual words but her voice doesn't sound the same at all. It wasn't the sweet, energetic voice Sayo had come to know. 

The hell? 

Was this... was this possesion?? 

Sayo's hand moves to the doorknob...but it falls away seconds later. 

Her sister was there and might need her. 

And Ako was well.... she was Ako, about as harmless in reality as a fruit fly however dangerous she claimed she was during enthusiastic rants and however low her voice got right now. 

'The words won't be mines' She recalled Ako saying this. 

Sayo didn't realize she meant it so literally! 

Ako spoke many things to or towards Hina. The way she said it sounded like chants you'd hear in a cult, absolute and demanding. 'You _will_ do this. You _won't_ do that but the words and quotes themselves sounded similar to something you'd hear from a motivational speaker. 

Ako begins to hum again in her own tone after a moment of all this but one line stuck with Sayo longer. It was almost standard amongst all the strange, unwonted phrases that were preached before it. 

**You've never seen a world without fear**  
**You've never seen a world without love**

Sayo didn't know why it stuck in her headl the way it did. 

Whatever the reason, energy begins to transfer from Ako towards her sister in a way that made Sayo figure no matter what potentially healing words were said prior or healing hums...hummed that it wasn't all there was to this. 

Perhaps it was only ceremony to begin with or perhaps Hina did need the words in a bizzare way Sayo couldn't understand. 

It was pretty.

The glow, the violet bright energy.

As eerie as the whole thing was, Sayo had never seen Ako look the way she did now; serenity washed over all her features. 

She'd known her for a while now and had seen a variety of emotions upon her. There was the typical happiness when she spoke of video games and lore and the kind of joy that made her cry like after an amazing performance. She'd also seen the kind of upset that made tears form in Ako's eyes just the same and she'd seen it borne of a multitude of things. Passion, worry, anything one could name. 

This unbreakable calm, a sweet gentle smile as Ako focused so effortlessly on just one thing alone, it was new and made Sayo shiver. She found she couldn't take her eyes off of it..off of Ako. 

She almost misses Hina's chanting or the way the room comes back to its standard enviorment during that. 

Hina was saying something that made no sense, and she was repeating it frantically. 

'Not the right one. Looking for me? Must go.... must go? There, only there!'

It was a little creepy, considering it was completely dark now. 

Someone brushes past her, Ako, Sayo knew by the tickle of the crow-like (or was it raven?) feathers on her arm. The lights flick back on. 

Hina's eyes dart towards them apparently not needing to adjust like Sayo's did. 

"Onee-chan? Hey! What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at rehearsal?" She asked. 

"That is correct, let me explain-" Sayo began. 

"Actually can this wait - I gotta go sis - we can talk later right?! I have to cause a chaotic encounter and meet with the love of my life from it!" Hina rushed around the room, grabbing clothes and flattening out her messy hair in the process. "Do I look okay?"

"Wait just a moment Hina. You're going out? You haven't left the house except for idol meetings... you haven't even stayed at practices. Are you sure you-" 

Sayo couldn't believe her eyes maybe even more now than when all the magic-possibly-not-magic had been going on. 

"Wait." She paused. "The love of your life? What about-"

"Not the right one!" Hina waved her question away. "I had it wrong, told you I was no good at this stuff!" She laughed before unabashedly starting to strip. 

That was Sayo's cue to, while horribly confused, guide Ako out of the room. 

* * *

Ako's Perspective 

____________ 

"You still remember?" Ako asks hopefully as they made their way back into the living room. 

"Yes." Sayo affirmed. "That was more intense than I expected Udagawa-san. How are you now then? Are you still in peril now that you've accomplished your mission?"

"Well... I waited for too long and now I'm just really sore because of holding the wings in for so long..." Ako shifted to ease her aches. "But there won't be any problems at night and that's my second task for the week. I'm free!" She quickly passed over the negative, fist pumping in enthusiasm. 

"That's good.....may I request something of you?" Sayo begins. 

Ako says yes without hesitation but turns red when Sayo asks if she could touch 'there.' There, being her back region that she gestured lightly to. 

"Yes... " She agrees, suddenly bashful. It was a little awkward but she trusted Sayo. 

She didn't get the curious, consensual probing that she expected from it however. 

In fact, Sayo doesn't touch her wings at all and instead ventures to massage her upper back with talented hands, kneading her spine and shoulder blades. "I want to say, thank you Udagawa-san for helping." She states in gratitude while doing so. 

"Well. I had to!" Ako downplays it. "It's my job and-"

"I know. But... she called me onee-san again. If you were an older sister you'd know what that means to me."

"You and Tomoe are the worst." Ako complains. "Always the older sister card!!"

Sayo chuckles and adds. "Really. I am grateful but I also feel it is my duty to give back too."

"Huh? But I don't need anything. I'm glad I helped you!" Ako denies her. She cared so much about everyone in Roselia. How awful would she have been if she just let Sayo suffer anyway?!

"It wouldn't be anything material or overdone. Do not worry about that." Sayo reassured her."I'd simply like to support you, fully if and when you decide to tell Roselia about this. I'll be there to answer any questions you don't want to and speak when you feel that you can't."

Ako's mouth drops a little at the show of support and then she squeaks. "Really? Sayo-san, you're the best!!!!"

It would be so nice to have someone to speak to about all of this! She never revealed much to her sister after all! 

Tomoe was always so chill even if she was just as loud as Ako. She didn't become distraught over many things. Angry maybe, but not completly distraught.

Sadly, she could only see Ako's ailments as a sick curse forced upon her and couldn't get past that to see the good side even if Ako had once asked her to try.

She was saving people, making them happy after all! 

Tomoe always looked at her like something was amiss, like she'd take the 'burden' for Ako and go in her place if she could. So, Ako never mentioned the elevated feelings she got from any of the varied situations she got into or how the wings made her feel like she was more 'Ako' than before. She didn't tell her how she gained knowledge of things in their world that others didn't know. 

She was afraid Tomoe would give her another one of those looks, that she'd hurt for her more. It wasn't a pain Ako wished to share with her big sister, not after all Tomoe had done for her! 

"Isn't she?!" Hina cheers, suddenly there behind the both them. "I love my onee-chan so much!"

Sayo allows Hina to tackle her with an embrace and it's the longest one Ako had ever seen her give to ANYONE. They start to speak in low hushed tones for a few soft moments so Ako tries not to eavesdrop. Hina suddenly remembers she had somewhere to go again after the two of them had laughed about something or another. 

"Bye Hina!" Ako waves when the once again cheerful twin announces her departure. 

"Bye twin-tails!" Hina finger guns at her as she bumbled through the door and out into the world. 

"Sayo-san." Ako says, officially, as though making an announcement; crossing her hands on her lap and sitting up straight. "I would like to educate you on all things otherworldly and cool so that you can help me when I tell Roselia because... " She hesitates. "I want to tell them. I think."

Ako was almost certain that she didn't actually have anything to fear and her worries were not rational. Tomoe, after all, got no invitations from whoever communicated with Ako and Roselia loved her just as much as she loved them. 

"Okay then." Sayo smiles at her before sitting on the couch and folding her hands onto her lap as well to mirror her. "Teach me, Ms.Udagawa-san."

Ako dive bombs onto the sofa next to her, eager. "That's professor Dark Angel to you!! So-"

Sayo coughs a little as she raises her hand. "Pardon me?"

She waits to get permission to speak which almost makes Ako laugh but she gives Sayo a cheeky, proud smile instead. 

It made her all bubbly inside to get Sayo's respect like that! 

"Yes Miss Hikawa?"

"I have to admit. I'm curious. Do you know why you were able to heal Hina's predicaments? Were it due to the words you said?"

"Mmm. Kinda?" Ako answered. "I don't usually speak actual language out loud so I don't know why I did this time. Maybe they thought you needed to hear something? Usually it's just humming and the people I interact with understand it." She shrugged. "But! It was what I said in the humming more than the language that mattered. So."

Ako takes a deep breath before sharing something she'd wanted to say to someone for the longest time. "Soulmates actually exist and usually when people are heartbroken it's as simple as giving them that piece of information and showing them where their true soulmate is! Sometimes they're very far away but a lot of time they aren't too! It is also told how they should approach them. It doesn't really heal all the wounds but when you know someone is actually meant for you in the world and that person wasn't who you were with or pining for it helps."

"I see.... " Sayo took in. "So soulmates aren't just a metaphorical thing. It's something tangible?"

"Yes. Every single person has one! Or... maybe more than one? To be honest-" Ako states. "People don't usually bounce back the way Hina did? They usually seem calmer and I thought that was the energy that flowed around or the smoke that tranqualized them! And I just leave because like, eventually I assume they'll pursue their soulmate and I feel the aura that my task is done. So Hina running off is kind of weird."

"It makes sense for her." Sayo declares knowingly."I think she'd find the concept of soulmates and especially of her own too interesting to let go of for a second. Though, I hazard a guess she'll still crash and burn. She has no idea what she's doing or how to work out emotions for people she knows. Let alone a stranger, soulmate they might be."

Sayo had a worried look on her face. Ako clears her throat. She probably shouldn't tell her right? Like Hina should probably get to do the exciting part. It IS her soulmate after all.

"Yup….a stranger. Definitely who she's going to see!" Ako agreed quickly. 

Sayo eyed her suspiciously. 

"And she won't remember where she got the info from so if she ever mentions it to anyone else they'll think she is quoting something or that she's completely crazy!" Ako rambled on. 

"Well.... " Sayo begins, thankfully letting Ako's strangeness pass. "That wouldn't be anything new…Yet, Udagawa-san. I have to confess again about my curiousity. This time it's... "

Sayo is the one who looks uncomfortable now. "This is a self-serving and irrelevant question but having this piece of knowledge in my hands I can't go on without asking it so forgive me...can you tell who anyone's soulmate is?" 

"Oh!" Pleased with the subject change and the easy question Ako squeaks. "Not really! Their pain has to tell me I think? So it's probably only when-" Ako freezes, her body going into a trance. 

Nothing causes her hurt but the presence of her 'boss' inside of her mind and soul stopped her in her tracks. 

There was a single earth-shattering hum from them and then they were gone as soon as they came, emptying away from her. 

'Sayo's soulmate is... **you**.'

"What's wrong!?" Sayo asks, alarmed. It didn't look normal how Ako had stilled entirely in front of her. 

"Uh…the entity just wanted to congratulate me VERY LOUDLY on a job well done." Ako complained. "But anyways - only when they're heartbroken probably!"

"I see."

Sayo looked disappointed but... she'd be that even moreso if she knew that Ako was hers right? At least, initially. Soulmates were soulmates but maybe it wasn't the best time to bring it up. It would seem like she was taking advantage of the situation.... right? Ako convinced herself. 

"Alright. I'm ready now. No more interruptions." Sayo promises to herm

"Right!" Ako exclaimed, her stomach flopping around inside her in an unpleasant way. She tried desperately not to let it show. 

Sayo wasn't exactly honest in her promise but Ako understood that. Sayo was so smart, of course she'd have questions! She even asked questions Ako didn't think about or have a single answer to which was amazing and also super difficult to wrap her head around.... It was enlightening just like the powers themselves and made Ako's brain rev with possibilities and ideals. 

That being said Sayo may have also ~~_begged_~~ repeatedly insisted on knowing what Hina's soulmate was like but Ako's lips were sealed on that one! 

It was a dramatic improvement from the beginning of the day Ako observed. She'd never felt THIS comfortable with Sayo. She hoped that by being open, their relationship would continue this way and become more and more. 

It was so nice and came with massages after all! 

* * *

Sayo's Perspective 

____________ 

"What is this, Sayo?" Yukina asks. 

The other three Roselia members had been instructed to meet before practice at Ako's home. 

Sayo was nervous herself but rubs Ako's shoulder when she notices Ako was far worse off. 

"Ako... " She calls softly. 

"Wait... you're not quitting are you? You look scared!" Lisa says. 

"What? No! I'd never quit! I want to stay with Roselia forever! But... " Lisa's crazy guess was enough to snap Ako out of her zoned out state but she still trails off, scared. 

"But?" Yukina asks, her tone a little impatient. Sayo could understand. Not only had Sayo walked out of practice with Ako without giving her an explanation, she'd also called this impromptu 'meeting' in the same unprofessional manner right in Ako's room. 

If Yukina wanted an explanation though it was a good thing she'd be getting one now. 

"I've not been telling the truth about something." Ako confesses. 

All three members glance at each other in concern Lisa steps out to the plate. "Well. I'm sure you had your reasons for keeping whatever it is under wraps but since you're here to tell us we'll happily listen!"

Sayo expected Ako to stumble through a shoddy explanation or to burst into tears. Sayo was readier than she'd ever been to jump in and help. Be Ako's hero, after Ako had been hers. She expected it to be confusing and a long process. 

She wasnt expecting the reveal... to be so chaotic. 

Rinko drops her hot milk when Ako suddenly reveals her wings. It was in a fancy store container that kept it heated and it spilled everywhere when it hit the ground. 

Lisa was shooken herself but had to do her best to lessen the damage of hot milk on black carpet while Yukina began to fire off a thousand questions that she probably wanted answers to all at once her first being, 

'How is this possible??'

It'd been the first thing Sayo had thought too when she first saw them. 

Ako was flustered immediately. Maybe she should have led off without the wings, Sayo thinks but Ako's tongue had clearly been caught and she had been so afraid that the emotion had radiated off her onto Sayo. She just couldn't say it so she went with the next best thing, presenting the truth to their eyes. 

Sayo was aware that Yukina's reaction made perfect sense but her heart pounded in an awful way seeing Ako look down to her toes the way she did. Ako's gift was _beautiful_. She suffered for it and still took her duties honorably. She deserved to hold her head high, not feel alienated for them. Sayo wouldn't have it! 

"Yukina. I trusted that you would be the calmest about this." She says, surprisingly sharp. "This is incredibly hard for Ako if you had not noticed that by now."

Ako's head snaps up to look at her. Sayo would never usually speak that way to Yukina sure but something had come her, an intensity that wasn't leaving and that she did not mind. 

"... I apologize." Yukina was not offended by it. "This kind of thing doesn't happen everyday. Ako?"

"Um, yes. So. I'm an angel." Ako announces. 

Lisa, currently dabbing the carpet with napkins (it didn't look effective but who was Sayo to judge?) asks "Do you mean like... a Jesus kind of thing."

"No. I... don't think so. Sayo??" Ako asks like she's tagging in her partner during one of those wrestling matches her parents liked to watch. 

Sayo tells everyone how her 'powers' came to be in the middle of the night and who or 'what' gives Ako orders to the best of her abilities and with her and Ako's limited data banks. 

"So, I kind of just know what they're saying even if they don't speak real words." Ako continues. "And I have to go off and help someone through their pain twice a week. If I don't do it that day well... "

"She gets put through inescapable pain." Sayo informed. "She helped me with a problem I faced. That is why we had to leave practice."

"I-inescapable pain?! Ako-chan.... are you okay??" Rinko asks, having taken everything in quietly until then. 

"It's OK! I'm very good at my job, so you never have to worry about that!" Ako tried to reasusre her. Sayo is unsure if the attempt works but she pipes in to help. 

"She is." She agrees adamantly. "Very professional and quick." 

"I see... " Yukina looks at them both in that analytical way Sayo recognized but could not read. 

"So, yeah... I will try really hard not to let it interfere with practice. I don't think it will actually. The signals were really loud because they were from Sayo so I couldn't focus on anything else. But other than that I could probably ignore everything until after school and practice if I wanted to - easy!"

"Ako... " Sayo turns to her, surprised. "What about...?"

Ako shakes her head. 

"That's fine too." She states firmly. 

"OK... " Sayo lets it go because she had to. She really didn't like the idea of Ako being in discomfort from the wings and not telling them. Not at all. Yet, Ako was trying to regain some shred of normalcy and how could Sayo fault her for that? 

"This pain.... if one of us has that like Sayo did... " Yukina begins to ask.

Not that Yukina would ever be so nosy but Sayo was really glad everyone wss focused on Ako's predicament that nobody was asking what was wrong with her. That was certainly not what anyone would be hearing today. It was her sister's business and private to them. Her, Hina and Ako. 

"I'd probably feel it if they want me to help. I might not, though. I don't know how people get chosen or why some do and some don't. Maybe they only pick who they think I can help? Or whose closest?" Ako shrugs. "I just know the person has to be in very deep pain, physical or emotional!"

"Well... I for one would be glad for your help, Ako!" Lisa exclaims giving her a smile. "This must have been a lot to tell us. How do you feel?"

"Well... nervous. Are you guys sure this is okay?" Ako twiddled be fingers. 

Lisa and Rinko both chaoticaly begin to assure Ako all was well. Sayo sighs in relief. 

Yukina waits until everyone is finished speaking over each other to say her piece. "…You are who you are Ako. You may be an angel but you are also Roselia so... nothing changes. I still expect the same things from you and you are still a valuable part of this band."

"It's true Ako." Sayo agrees with them all. "Whoever's work you're doing, it's good work on your end. You should be proud of your role as an angel and of your role in Roselia. No exceptions."

"…oh. Well yow you've done you two! Look. She's crying!" Lisa jokes. "Come here." She opens her arms out and Ako flies to her and hugs her tight. 

Lisa kisses her head maternally and goes "I think the wings make you even cuter. Hey Rinko - do you think we could fit those into a costume design?"

"We-well... " Rinko begins as Sayo denies the idea. "Absolutely not."

"Well.. " Yukina says scanning Ako. Sayo was sure she'd take her side at least.

"Maybe for a poster... it _could_ fit our vision..."

Or **not**. 

"Really guys?" Ako pouts. "I've been asking for a winged photoshoot for ages but now that you know I have real ones you consider it?! No fair..."

She was adorable. Frankly, _adorable_. Sayo lets the innocent thought pass in order to focus on the more important topic. 

"It's not happening." She reiterated to the band. "That is way too dangerous and come, we need to get to the studio. We're already going to have a short session as it is now."

"You're no fun." Ako pouts again but flies right next to her and before putting her wings away she grabs Sayo's hand and whispers a thanks for her support right into her ear. 

Sayo's face tints ever so slightly but the moment is over quickly. Just as quick as they all started filing out the room, just as quick as Sayo realized Ako was going to become a much larger part of her thoughts. 

Sayo wasn't sure if she were fine with that. It was terrifying, really - way scarier than the realisation that Ako had wings was the realisation that Ako was becoming so important to her since she knew now there was this thing that existed called soulmates.

The chance the Ako was hers were slim but for now... she'd smile at Ako's incessant need to hold her hand and support her as much as she could. It was the least she could do and... 

There was that language Ako estimated she may have needed to hear, the quote separated from hums that had stuck out to Sayo coming back to her as the cold air caressed her face. 

You've never seen a world without fear  
You've never seen a world without love

So yeah, she was terrified.

But that was okay. 

**Author's Note:**

> My thought process for this:
> 
> I want Ako has wings and for her to be super cool with wings
> 
> And this is what came from that! I hope you enjoyed my weird maybe demonic interpretation of angels and a bit of SayoAko on the side! 
> 
> (Ngl I kinda wanna do a slightly more angsty sequel to this but idk if anyone would even be interested lol.)


End file.
